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Trine Students Help Shelter Get a Clearer Picture of Finances
A group of Trine University students recently conducted an audit of the Community Humane Shelter of Steuben County, the first in the organization’s history. From left, students Shay Ohtonen, Jacob Jones, John McClelland and Alex Sheets; Ingrid Rosales, shelter treasurer; Al Beatty, assistant professor in the university’s Ketner School of Business; and student Jackson Clark. An audit can help an organization make major improvements to its financial operations.
It can also cost a lot of money.
Wanting a financial audit but having no budget, the Steuben County Community Humane Shelter turned to Trine University and its students for assistance.
The Trine group, formed by Jackson Clark, an accounting specialist from Fort Mill, South Carolina; Alex Sheets, an accounting specialist from Goshen, Indiana; Jacob Jones, an accounting major from Willowbrook, Illinois; Samuel Sering, an accounting major from Indianapolis; Shay Ohtonen, an accounting and finance major from Dexter, Michigan; and John McClelland, an accounting specialist from Oak Forest, Illinois, presented their findings to the Humane Shelter Board on April 22.
A new addition to the shelter
An audit has never been conducted for the shelter, although Ingrid Rosales, who has served as the organization’s treasurer since June 2023, said its finances do not meet the threshold to require submission of a federal audit to the IRS.
“The new board of directors decided that an audit would be beneficial to see what areas we could improve,” she said.
Rosales, a Trine alumna who works in the university’s Advancement Office, suggested a partnership with the Auditing class taught by Al Beatty, an assistant professor in the university’s Ketner School of Business.
“The audit project provided the best solution compared to a workplace audit,” said Beatty. “It was basically an internship.”
The six students volunteered for the project. Beatty said that under Rosales’ guidance, the students planned the audit, investigated based on the planning phase, and provided recommendations based on the audit.
The areas covered by the audit included accounts payable, accounts receivable, revenue and grants, cash, fixed assets and debt.
“My background is in government auditing; I helped audit nonprofits, towns, cities and counties in my previous role,” Rosales said. “We thought it would be perfect for me to oversee the audit process. Students followed a real-world audit procedure where they planned an audit, performed tests, and prepared a report and presentation.”
Students stayed an extra hour after Audit class on Tuesdays and Thursdays for three months to review financial statements and test the shelter’s internal controls.
The audit will not be filed with the IRS, but in all other respects it was a regular audit, Rosales said.
“Students highlighted areas in which the shelter excels and also shared weaknesses the shelter currently has,” she said. “Students also provided detailed guidance on how to improve our internal controls and achieve greater financial clarity.”